MOULTRIE, Ga. — While many people sing the praises of electric cars as a way to reduce the use of fossil fuels, one of the big obstacles to them has always been access: Where do I go to fill ’er up?

A Moultrie businessman just made that a little easier.

Dennis Futch, owner of The Tax Shop on South Main Street, has installed an electric vehicle charging station in the parking lot behind his business.

Futch, who owns a Tesla electric car, said the universal charging station is available for free to anyone who needs it.

It’s the first in Moultrie and one of a few throughout South Georgia. Griner Nissan in Valdosta has one; there are two in Tifton, one at Tenneson Nissan and the other at Starbucks.

The three locations in Tifton and Valdosta were enough to get that stretch of Interstate 75 designated an “Alternative Vehicle Corridor” by the U.S. Department of Transportation in December.

“Now we have one in Moultrie,” Futch said.

Futch said he’s listed on the ChargePoint Network, which has a phone app that can help electric car drivers find a charging station. ChargePoint has the world’s largest and most open electric vehicle charging network, according to its website.

Futch said the charging station could help bring business downtown, if only because of the demographics of the people who own electric cars.

“These folks have got money,” he said. “When they stop, they spend money.”

While that won’t necessarily help The Tax Shop, he said, it could be an asset for the restaurants and stores in downtown.

The Valdosta Daily Times, reporting on the DOT designation in December, said the overwhelming majority of electric vehicles are sold in California, but Georgia has remained one of the top states for electric car sales in the past several years.

“It’s the responsible thing to do,” Futch said. “We’ve got to do whatever we have to do to cut carbon emissions and promote energy independence.”